Door seal



Jan. 6, 1959 EMLEY, JR

' -Filed March 30, 1956 INVENTOR WARREN E EMLEX'JR.

ATTORNEYS DOOR SEAL Warren E. Emley, J12, Bere a, Ohio Application March30, 1956, Serial No. 575,233 4 (Ilaims. (Cl. 2tl-69) (Granted underTitle 35, U. S. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described hereinmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the UnitedStates of America for governmental purposes Without the payment of anyroyalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to a door seal and more particularly tothe construction of a door and door jamb which will prevent the passageof gas or air from one side of the door to the other even when thedimensions of the door are subject to variation due to emperaturechanges.

The present invention was conceived primarily as a solution to theproblem of pressure sealing a large opening such, for example as anopening eight by sixteen feet, and wherein the door itself is subject toair pressures as high as sixty pounds per square foot and totemperatures as high as 400' F. Thus the door seal construction is suchthat the seal is maintained even where there is considerable expansion,warp and twist of the door and/ or ja'mb.

An object of the present invention therefore is the provision of a doorseal of the nature described which will prevent passage of air or othergas from one side of the door to the other.

Another object is to provide a door seal which will remain eflectiveeven though the door is subject to wide variations in temperature andtherefore to variations in dimensions, due to expansion.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a door seal whichwill remain effective over an extended period of use, and which does notuse materials which will deteriorate due to time, usage or extremes oftemperature and pressure, to any appreciable extent.

Still another object is to provide a door seal which may be readilyfabricated from commonly available materials.

A further object of the present invention is the vision of the door sealwhich may be used with tremely large openings.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as th same becomes better understood byreference to the m dwing detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the figure and wherein:

pro-

m 60 1116 sole figure represents a perspective view, partly incross-section, of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a door nited States ate2,867,012 lflfatented Jan. 6, 19

across the channel opening, and covering bronze strip 34 is a strong,impervious, heat-resistant diaphragm 36. Diaphragm 36 is preferably madeof Fiberglas coated with a resilient heat-resisting plastic material,such as butyl rubber or silicone rubber. The diaphragm 36 is secured inplace by holddown bars 38 placedon andsecured to each of the retainerbars and 32. I 4

As may be seen, bronze strip 34 has a central portion which is generallyperpendicular to the edge 16, this central portion being supported bytwo integral leg portions which rest in the bottom of the channel formedby 10 having an outstanding flange 12 extending there- 5 around. Theflange 12' has secured thereto an L-channel 14 which presents aperipherally extending edge 16. Flange 12 also carries at properintervals therealong a plurality of stop members 18, which areadjustably secured :to the flange 12 by means of a screw thread 26* andnut 22.

The door jamb is placed in an opening in a building flange 28 andretainer bars 30 and 32.

In operation, the door 10 is swung or otherwise moved into positionopposite the door jamb. Edge 16 of flange 14 will contact the diaphragm36 and there will thus be established at least a line contact about theentire door periphery. Preferably the edge 16 will contact approximatelyat the middle of the central portion of the spring bronze strip 34.Excess deflection of bronze strip 34 and diaphragm 36 will be preventedby the stop members 18. It will be obvious that specific sizes andadjustments will depend upon the particular temperatures and pressuresexisting at a particular installation. In all cases, however, thesealing will be maintained and effective due to the controlled amount ofyielding of the diaphragm 36, supported and backed up by the springstrip 34.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same become better understood byreference to the detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A door, a contact member on said door andextending peripherallythereof, said member having a rigid sealing edge positioned transverseto the plane of said door, a door jamb comprising a peripherallyextending channel formed of a pair of parallel strips, a thin, strong,flexible, non-elastic, impervious diagram member tending across saidchannel and positioned on said strips, hold down means on each stripoverlying the edges of said diaphragm member to secure said diaphragmmember to said strips, a spring member in said channel underlying saiddiaphragm urging said diaphragm outwardly of said channel, said springmember having an extended fiat portion producing a substantialperipherally extending flat area of said diaphragm member substantiallyparallel to the plane of said door jamb, said spring member having aspring leg member extending outwardly from each edge of said flatportion and lodged in said chansupported on said structure insurrounding relationship to said door opening provided with a channelrecess extending the full peripheral length of said frame, a thin,strong, flexible, non-elastic, impervious, heat-resistant diaphragmextending across the face of said channel re- In thisnchannel A cess thefull length thereof, means for securing the edges of said diaphragmalong the edges of said channel recess, spring means within said channelrecess continuously supporting said diaphragm and urging saiddiaphragm'outwardly of 'said'channel recess as a flat surfacesubstantially parallel to the plane of the door opening, said springmeans having a substantial continuous flat portion adapted to engage thediaphragm and a-"pair. of spring leg members extending from each edge ofsaid fiat portion and lodged in the inner corners of said channel recesssuch that the figure in a plane transverse of said channel recessdefined by the spring and the base of the channel recess opposite saiddiaphragm is substantially that of an isosceles trapezoid, a contactmember extending peripherally of said door having a rigid sealing edgeto effect substantially a peripheral line-contact seal with the fiat,spring-supported portion of said diaphragm upon closure of said door.

4. The sealing arrangement of claim 3 having stop means on said doorengaging a portion of said iamb when said door is in closed position,said stop means being adjustable when said door is in closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ChaseAug. 2, Flare June 16, Garland Sept. 2, Schwartzenberg Feb. 2, JohnsonJune 15, Elmenthaler Dec. 8, Wine Apr. 24, Olander Nov. 6, Olander Sept.14, Lee Ian. 12,

Walz Aug. 28,

